At the recent Ridge bloggers' tasting there was a fairly interesting discussion about the relative merits of cultured and 'wild' yeasts. Ridge is one of those wineries that never adds yeast, relying on the fruit to ferment on its own, with yeasts from the environment. The debate mainly centered around whether those yeasts were endemic to the vineyard or the facility.

My personal view on this is that there's a strong correlation between the use of 'wild' (or 'natural') yeasts and quality wine, but that (as 99.7% of statisticians will tell you) correlation doesn't imply causality. Or, in other words, just because vintners who use wild yeasts typically make great wines doesn't mean that using wild yeasts will automatically result in a better product.

I was planning a blog post on the subject, only to come across an interview with the man himself - Paul Draper on Alice Feiring's blog. Clearly he can explain these things way better than I can. It's a good read; I especially like the sign-off quote:
In California for at least the last ten or fifteen years we have heard that the wines are now made in the vineyard. What is not mentioned is that in most cases they are then re-made in the winery.

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I was a big fan of the 2006 Windy Oaks "Wild Yeast" Pinot Noir; on the occasions that I tasted them side by side I preferred it over the 2006 "Reserve". The 2007 vintage was released this fall; since I've been very impressed by the 2007 vintage generally but haven't had chance to visit the winery yet I decided to open a bottle from my latest wine club shipment.

Just four barrels were made - all fermented with native wild yeasts - and aged for 17 months in 75% new French oak.

Decanted about 1 hour, in a wide-based decanter. Light coloured, as is typical for Windy Oaks. Nose of strawberries, roses and allspice. On the palate there's baking spice, red fruits - strawberries and cherries - and citrus pith on the finish. It started out fairly lightweight, but showed increasing weight and depth over the 2 hours it was open. 93 now, could easily gain 2-3 points with time. $55 Recommended

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